John Byner
| birth_place = New York, New York, U.S. | occupation = Actor, comedian, impressionist | years active = 1967-present | spouse = Ksenia Prohaska (m. 1985–?; divorced) | children = 4 (with Eleanor Belcher)"John Byner"; Internet Movie Database (IMDb), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Seattle, Washington; retrieved November 3, 2017.}} , Bea Arthur and Hermione Baddeley on Maude (1977)]] John Byner (born John Biener; June 28, 1938) is an American actor, comedian, and impressionist who has had a lengthy television and movie career. His voice work includes the cartoon series The Ant and the Aardvark, in which the title characters are voiced by Byner's impressions of Dean Martin and Jackie Mason, respectively. Career On The Ed Sullivan Show, where he made his first early TV appearances, he mimicked Ed Sullivan among many others. Other impressions included John Wayne and he sings as Dean Martin and Johnny Mathis. His ability to mimic "Toastmaster General" George Jessel came in handy during his appearances on panel programs such as celebrity "roasts" and other tributes.A Party for Wences , povonline.com; accessed June 28, 2015. On a 1967 episode of Get Smart, he played a KAOS agent who made a phone call to the Chief of CONTROL (played by Edward Platt), performed a perfect impression of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and told the Chief he was fired and replaced with agent Maxwell Smart (Don Adams). In 1970-71, he hosted 22 episodes of Something Else, a syndicated half-hour musical variety series. He then hosted his own show in 1972 called the John Byner Comedy Hour, where the character Super Dave was first introduced. That same year, he had a cameo appearance in What's Up, Doc? In the mid-1970s, he guest starred in two episodes of The Odd Couple."The New Car" (1973) imdb.com; retrieved November 3, 2017. Byner played a comedian/impersonator aboard a cruise ship in season 6 of Hawaii Five-O. His character, Duffy Malone, did impersonations of John Wayne and then got hit on the back of his head as a diversionary tactic by the bad guy.(Season 6, Disc 6 Hawaii Five-O complete series) He had a recurring role in the situation comedy The Practice during its first season in 1976. In the late 1970s, he had a featured role as Detective Donahue on the TV series Soap. He was cast in Happy Days as Mork from Ork but found the premise ridiculous, so he declined the role days before filming began. Robin Williams was called in at the last minute, and that substitution proved to be a career-making part for the comedian who deeply impressed everyone with his talent. In the 1970s, Byner appeared several times on The Carol Burnett Show, where in one comedy sketch he wore a Donald Duck costume and mimicked the cartoon character's distinctive voice. He appeared several times on talk shows hosted by David Letterman."Entertainer Actor Comedian: John Byner", JohnByner.com; retrieved November 3, 2017. In the 1980s, he hosted Bizarre, which re-introduced many people to hapless daredevil Super Dave Osborne played by Bob Einstein. In 1983 he had a role as "Doc," who was Burt Reynolds' longtime childhood friend in the movie Stroker Ace. In 1985 the Walt Disney Company's animated feature The Black Cauldron was released, featuring Byner voicing the characters Gurgi and Doli. He was a regular celebrity guest on Hollywood Squares during the John Davidson years and later hosted the 1988-89 syndicated game show Relatively Speaking. ; retrieved November 3, 2017. He appeared in an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series as a washed-up ventriloquist. On May 26, 2017, it was reported that Byner had been cast in a supporting role in the Amazon Video horror anthology series Lore, which is based on the podcast of the same name. Byner portrays Patrick Boland, the father of Bridget Cleary (played by Holland Roden). Lore premiered on October 13, 2017. Personal life Byner was born John Biener in New York City, the son of Christina, a mental hospital attendant, and Michael Biener, a truck mechanic.John Byner profile, filmreference.com; accessed June 28, 2015.Wallace, Jeff (2015). "5 things you didn't know about John Byner", AXS, Aug 31, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2017. Byner has been married four times, and has four children with his first wife Eleanor Belcher.Neuhaus, Cable (1983). "Rude, Crude and Outrageous, John Byner's Bizarre Behavior Makes Him Cable's King of Comedy", People, December 12, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2017. He has been married to Anne Gaybis since 1992. Filmography Film Television References External links *Official website * * * Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:American male film actors Category:American male voice actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American male television actors Category:Male actors from New York City Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Comedians from New York City Category:20th-century American comedians Category:21st-century American comedians